celebrity kids

Mel B is accusing her ex of putting media exposure ahead of their children's well-being, and now she wants her legal battle with him sealed from the public.

Mel filed docs asking the court to seal her ongoing domestic violence case against Stephen Belafonte because it's attracting so much media attention, it's harming her kids.

Mel says reporters and photographers are waiting whenever she drops off their daughter to visit Stephen, and suspects he's alerting media to the visitation schedule. She says, "While [Stephen] may enjoy the media attention, the minor child of this marriage did not ask to be placed in the center of this mounting storm."

Sources connected to Belafonte tell us he absolutely denies exploiting the case or giving the media a heads up.

In the docs, Mel also says testifying about the alleged abuse in open court would be "further abuse" against her.

A hearing's set for next month for the judge to decide whether to seal the case.

Jesse Williams is firing back at his estranged wife's claim he's not involved enough as a parent -- saying, essentially, she only gets to be at home with the kids because HE has to bring home the bacon.

Jesse filed docs responding to Aryn's allegations ... and says she has the "incredible privilege of being a stay-at-home mom with a full-time nanny" ... purely because he's putting in hard work every day. In the docs, he goes on to say Aryn is punishing him for providing for his family.

The punishment? He says Aryn restricts and "micro manages" the time he gets to spend with their 2 children since their split. He says his FaceTime calls to them frequently go unanswered, and when Aryn does answer ... she sometimes leaves the TV on to distract the kids.

As for Aryn's claims Jesse bullies her ... he says the only aggression the children have witnessed is Aryn screaming at him. According to the docs, Aryn once repeatedly slammed the front door on Jesse's leg while yelling at him.

We spoke with Aryn's lawyer, Jill Hersh, who tells us "it is a shame that Mr. Williams chose to place the children and his family's transition in the public domain."

Hersh added, "Aryn has been working tirelessly to maintain Mr. Williams' bond with their children and it is important to remember that his one-sided allegations are made with a specific goal in mind. The judge is fully informed on both sides and will be making the final decision."

Worth pointing out ... Hersh's comment is an almost word-for-word duplication of comments Jesse's team made in response to Aryn's filing last week.

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton just hammered out a custody deal for their 7-year-old son so the war is over.

According to legal docs filed in their custody case, Julian Fuego will split time between Robin and Paula. He gets Julian Monday through Wednesday and she gets him Wednesday through Friday. They alternate weekends. The exes agreed to share expenses, including private school. They also hammered out a vacation and holiday schedule.

TMZ broke the story ... Paula got a restraining order against Robin after Julian complained to school officials his dad used excessive physical force. She even accused Robin of trying to influence a court-appointed monitor with free sushi ... which Robin denied.

So ... double good news for Robin.

Ryan Lochte's son is just 2 months old, but that ain't too early for the Team USA star to know his kid's potential ... telling TMZ Sports his boy will follow in daddy's footsteps and be an Olympic swimmer!!

Lochte and his Playboy model fiancee, Kayla Rae Reid, were leaving Catch in L.A. when we asked about baby Caiden ... and although too early to start training, Lochte's got a hunch his boy's got his gold medal genes.

Tennis superstar Victoria Azarenka -- one of the best players in the world -- has finally broken her silence on the custody war that could force her to miss the US Open ... saying it's unfair that she has to choose between her job and her kid.

As we previously reported, Azarenka is at war with her baby daddy -- who filed custody papers in L.A. and the judge overseeing the case won't let Victoria take the kid out of the state while the trial rages.

Problem is ... the US Open starts on August 28 in NY -- but Azarenka says she REFUSES to leave her kid behind.

"Shortly after Wimbledon, Leo’s father and I separated and as we work to resolve some of the legal processes, the way things stand now is that the only way I can play in the US Open this year is if I leave Leo behind in California, which I’m not willing to do."

"No one should ever have to decide between a child and their career, we are strong enough to do both," Azarenka said.

Azarenka's attorney, Laura Wasser, recently told the judge the tennis star is more than willing to buy a plane ticket for the baby daddy and put him up in a hotel for the 2-week tournament, but the judge said no.

Still, Victoria is holding out hope that the two sides can reach an amicable resolution.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are deep in divorce talks, and there is NO talk of reconciliation, contrary to some media reports.

Several stories have surfaced recently suggesting the divorce is on hold and they are thinking of rebooting the relationship. Sources connected to the couple say nothing could be further from the truth.

We're told both sides are hashing out both child custody and property settlements, and the divorce is full steam ahead.

One reason they will never get back together ... Angelina made extremely damaging allegations against Brad, claiming he was abusive to their kids. The investigations triggered by the allegations ultimately exonerated Pitt.

Brad hasn't hidden his feeling about the children -- they're at the top of his priority list, so it seems they're at the point of no return in terms of reconciling.

Lori Loughlin vehemently denies her daughter was filming herself behind the wheel moments before she got into a car crash ... which was posted on YouTube, but has since been taken down.

The "Fuller House" star was at LAX when we asked about allegations her 17-year-old daughter, YouTube star Olivia Jade Giannulli, was vlogging while driving ... capturing the moment a truck rear-ended her, shoving her into another car.

Olivia reportedly posted the video Sunday to her nearly 1 million subscribers. Daily Mail posted 6 screen grabs showing her behind the wheel, and reported Olivia vowed to never vlog or text while driving right after the accident.

Mama Bear says the report is total BS, and insists her daughter never recorded while driving. It's impossible to compare her explanation though .. Olivia's video has been taken down from YouTube, for some reason.

Hilary Duff is staying above water when it comes to motherhood.

Hilary's soakin' up the sun with her son, Luca, and friends over in Hawaii. She's taking it all in -- some fun on a paddle board, catching some rays and definitely some waves ... all in mommy mode.

Motherhood suits her well ... especially in a striped bathing suit, despite it being understandably PG.

Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian are close to wrapping negotiations on a custody agreement for their daughter, Dream, and the big revelation from the talks so far -- Chyna's killing it financially.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... neither Rob nor BC has requested child support from the other ... yet. If that changes though, Rob would likely be the one asking for a couple of reasons.

First, Rob has Dream more often than Chyna -- we're told that's always been the case. Second, she makes way more money than he does. We're told Rob banks very little on his own outside of the family reality show. Chyna, on the other hand, makes huge chunks of change on appearances and hosting gigs.

So, even if custody ends up being a 50/50 split ... there's at least the possibility Rob could eventually go after her for support. But right now, that's not on the table, and we're told they're close to reaching a settlement.

Nick Cannon says his and Mariah Carey's daughter is a natural born star 'cause her musical talent runs deep in her veins ... but it's unclear who he thinks passed it on.

We got Nick Wednesday in NYC, where we asked for his take on Monroe's stage performance next to her mom -- and his baby mama -- Mariah. He's not surprised she killed it ... like he says, it's in the genes.

What he's not totally clear on is whose genes he's talking about. As you know ... Mimi's the singer in the fam. And, while Nick raps, he definitely doesn't have her pipes.